Book Reviews and Other Writing

Rory Gilmore Update Number Four

Doing the Rory Gilmore reading challenge means reading works that are almost impossible to read, or works that you may not have a great deal to write about. So here I have three short reviews of my experiences with children’s books from the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge.

Dick King Smith – Babe (1983)The actual title of the book is The Sheep-Pig in the UK or Babe the Gallant Pig, in the US. Another children’s book featuring a pig that will always bring me back to my own childhood. Babe the pig is brought to a sheep farm and quickly picks up the talent of herding sheep. His owner enters him in a sheep herding trial (yes its a real thing), and the pair score full marks. The book ends with those famous words, “That’ll do pig.”

Also if you’re at all intrigued by sheepherding watching this video about a bunch of sheepherders in New Zealand who clearly have too much time on their hands.

E.B White – Charlotte’s Web (1952)
No matter how old I get I will always cry at the end of this book. It’s such a classic story, but is so touching and just reminds me of childhood summers spent reading on the back porch. It is also one of those rare books that is as enjoyable to children as it is to adults. If I ever have children I will read to them and cry alongside them when Charlotte dies and Wilbur guards her eggs. I’m tearing up just writing this right now.

Donald J. Sobol – Encyclopedia Brown (1963)
The male counterpart to Nancy Drew, Encyclopedia Brown was the boy detective who could crack any case in the neighbourhood. Interestingly enough, I never read Nancy Drew growing up, but my dad would read an Encyclopedia Brown mystery to me every night. After the story we would debate how exactly Encyclopedia Brown was able to crack the case before checking the solutions at the back of the book. I was a little shit as a kid though and would often cheat, looking at the solution before my Dad came into read and would put on a whole show about how smart I was for cracking the case. Pretty sure he knew I was cheating all along, but I’ve never asked him about it.